1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a relay connector which can be assembled between an apparatus and a wire harness.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electric car, as a measure to connect a wire harness to an apparatus (such as a motor or an inverter), a wire-side connector that is connected with the wire of the wire harness is connected with an apparatus-side connector that is directly connected with the apparatus, thereby connecting the terminal metal fittings of the two connectors by the engagement of male and female parts (See JP-A-9-161892, for example).
In general, space saving is essential in automobile designing. Therefore, there are cases in which an apparatus-side connector is forced to be positioned out of the reach of the operator due to constraints of layout.
One solution for this is to extend the apparatus-side connector to a position within easy reach of the operator by modifying the configuration of the apparatus. However, in the case of trying to share the same apparatus among different types of automobiles for cost reduction, the shape-changed part of an extended apparatus-side connector can be useless or obtrusive in space in other types of automobiles. Therefore, it is preferable that an apparatus shared among different types of automobiles be simplified in shape and miniaturized.